PhD Seminar • Human-Computer Interaction • Expanding Side Touch Input on Mobile Phones

Please note: This PhD seminar will take place in DC 1304 and virtually over Zoom.

Yen-Ting (Allen) Yeh, PhD candidate
David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science

Supervisor: Professor Daniel Vogel

With phones becoming more powerful and used more heavily in our life, manufacturers are beginning to create new device forms and interactions to better support multiple functions. A common goal is to enable a larger input space and expand the input vocabulary using new physical phone interactions other than touchscreen input. We investigate these types of interactions that are possible with different phone capabilities and human finger dexterity.

We investigate the performance of one-handed touch input on the side of a mobile phone. We examined grip change and subjective preference when reaching for side targets using different fingers and taps and flicks using the thumb and index finger in a new two-dimensional input space. A side-touch sensor is simulated with a combination of capacitive sensing and motion tracking to evaluate the input space and demonstrate example interactions. Side touch input can be considered as an alternative to physical side buttons: harnessing the expressive potential of smooth, touch-sensitive sides on a phone.

To attend this PhD seminar in person, please go to DC 1304. You can also attend virtually using Zoom at https://uwaterloo.zoom.us/j/99286491213.